Posts Tagged ‘Willem Dafoe’

If you happen to be interested in sex, Lars von Trier’s upcoming two-part opus Nymphomaniac is likely right up your, um, alley. Why? Well, it’s pretty much about sex all the time and is, from all accounts, quite graphic.

So yeah, there’s that. You can see exactly what we’re talking about in the first trailer for the film. And yes, this one is definitely not one you want to be watching at work. Unless, of course, you happen to work someplace where this would be cool to watch. If so, lucky you.

This trailer also serves to gives us some insight into Charlotte Gainsbourg’s titular character as well as glimpses of actors Stellan Skarsgård, Shia LaBeouf, Jamie Bell, Uma Thurman and Willem Dafoe. Magnolia Pictures has U.S. rights to the movie, but has not set a release data yet.

2012 is here, and yet we haven’t been evaporated just yet. Don’t tell that to the folks who have Willem Defoe dancing around and chewing up the scenery in the newest trailer for 4:44 Last Day on Earth.

The film takes the “end of days” premise to a new level of technology and immediate information. Here’s the quick premise for the flick.

In a large apartment high above the city lives our couple. They’re in love. She’s a painter, he’s a successful actor. Just a normal afternoon – except that this isn’t a normal afternoon, for them or anyone else. Because tomorrow, at 4:44 am, give or take a few seconds, the world will come to an end far more rapidly than even the worst doomsayer could have imagined.

The final meltdown will come not without warnings, but with no means of escape. There will be no survivors. As always, there are those who, as their last cigarette is being lit and the blindfold tightened, will still hope against hope for some kind of reprieve. For a miracle. Not our two lovers. They – like the majority of the Earth’s population – have accepted their fate: the world is going to end.

The flick hits theaters on March 23rd, but you can check out the trailer after the jump.

I’m not sure what it is about movie marketing these days. For some reason, studios seems determined to hide elements of a film when putting together trailers and other marketing materials.

It’s almost as if they’re afraid to reveal anything for fear of alienating some segment (or all) of a film’s potential audience. In truth, that’s probably pretty close to the reality.

Such is the case with Disney’s upcoming film John Carter. It’s painfully obvious from the trailersreleased so far that Disney marketing has no idea how to sell this film. In fact, I’d wager the first trailers have done little to entice potential viewers into the theaters.

Personally, I’ve found them to be dull, uninspired and tending to focus on elements making this film pretty much look like every other Disney film released in the last ten years. Fortunetely, for those of us who are fans of the books and want this movie to succeede, others have stepped up to help.

Enter YouTube user John Carter Files. They’ve taken it upon themselves to make a trailer for the film and after watching it I’m sure you will agree it’s so much better than any of the “official” ones Disney should give these guys a job immedietly and leave them alone to do their work.

Check it out after the break. Look for John Carter to hit theaters on March 9.

We’ve had some tidbits from this film already including some stills and a poster and the first trailer. Now, Disney has released a new trailer for John Carter, the science-fiction epic based on the series of books by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

In case you’ve forgotten (or never knew in the first place) here’s a synopsis of the film:

“John Carter tells the story of war-weary, former military captain John Carter (Kitsch), who is inexplicably transported to Mars where he becomes reluctantly embroiled in a conflict of epic proportions amongst the inhabitants of the planet, including Tars Tarkas (Willem Dafoe) and the captivating Princess Dejah Thoris (Collins). In a world on the brink of collapse, Carter rediscovers his humanity when he realizes that the survival of Barsoom (Mars) and its people rests in his hands.”

Well, does the trailer live up to the hype and your expectations? Check it out after the jump. Disney’s John Carter arrives in theaters on March 9.

Happy Memorial Day to all those currently serving in the U.S. armed forces, and to you vets of America’s foreign wars. This week’s pick is Oliver Stone’s 1986 Academy Award winner for Best Picture Platoon, which depicts the horrors and struggles of infantrymen figthing not only the enemy, but themselves during one of the most difficult periods of the Vietnam conflict.

The film is an autobiographical account of Stone’s own experiences during 1967-68 as told by a fresh-faced new recruit Chris Taylor (Sheen) who dropped out of college and volunteers for combat duty in Vietnam. The film opens with Taylor’s arrival in country as he and others deplane from an Air Force transport. Taylor and fellow recruit Gardner (Bob Orwig) see body bags which are being loaded onto their plane.

This week’s pick is a salute to U.S. Navy pilots during the Vietnam War with director John Milius’s (Red Dawn, The Wind and the Lion, Rough Riders) Flight of the Intruder (1991), which was based on the novel written by former A-6 pilot Stephen Coonts. The film stars Brad Johnson (Lt. Jake ‘Cool Hand’ Grafton), Danny Glover (Cmd. Frank ‘Dooke’ Camparelli), and Willem Dafoe (Lt. Cmd. Virgil ‘Tiger’ Cole).

The title of the film is based on the A-6 Intruder which was an all weather, low altitude, twin jet engine bomber which was the U.S. Navy’s workhorse throughout the Vietnam conflict. Its primary function was to destroy road junctions, radar and missile installations, and to assist ground troops in combat.

The bomber had no defensive weapons and was vulnerable to other attack aircraft. Certain variations of the fighter are still in use today with the U.S. Navy and it is considered to be one of the finest attack aircraft ever produced for the American military.

The film opens with news audio clips of American involvement in Vietnam since the mid 1960s and how the war has escalated to a standstill, especially for pilots who are restricted to enter North Vietnamese airspace since 1968 during the final months of Lydon B. Johnson’s presidential term.

As with most every week, this week sees the release of more new movies and TV shows on Blu-ray and DVD. Of the titles dropping this week we’re most interested in Edge of Darkness, Legion, Daybreakers, the first time Blu-ray release of Karate Kid I and II, the release of the Kurosawa collection and the debut of Mel Brook’s History of the World Part One on Blu-ray (pictured above with Mel Brooks and Harvey Korman).

Lots of names come to mind when thinking of the more popular film score composers of the past two decades. Names like Danny Elfman, John Williams, and Quincy Jones have dominated the craft for so long, it’s refreshing when a newcomer joins the ranks. In the last 5 years, Michael Giacchino has earned his slot in the Mount Everest of film composers.

Giacchino has shown his incredible range scoring projects such as LOST, Speed Racer, The Incredibles, Star Trek, and finally getting himself an Oscar for his work on Disney’s Up. It looks like the major studio isn’t letting go of Giacchino any time soon, as they have just hired him to compose the score for the upcoming space adventure John Carter of Mars.

It makes sense that Disney would go with this pick, given his work on their more recent Pixar films, especially with Pixar veteran Andrew Stanton directing the film. While that connection makes the most sense, it could also be attributed to the amazing score Giacchino composed for J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek, which could easily go down as one of the best sci-fi scores of recent history.

Even with this news, John Carter of Mars is most definitely not shaping up to be a small picture. With Disney backing the film, and a cast made up of Taylor Kitsch, Mark Strong, Willem Dafoe, Bryan Cranston, Dominic West, Polly Walker, Thomas Hayden Church, Samantha Morton and Lynn Collins, you can expect to see big things from the upcoming sci-fi epic.

The Vampire’s Assistant is based on the first three books in a series of twelve by Darren Shan. Like the Twilight series, The Vampire’s Assistant books are targeted towards young adults, and naturally this movie is as well. If you are not a tweener, or a fan of the book series, it is best to steer clear of this painfully bland adaptation. The movie seems entirely too self-aware of its target audience, and consequently it takes the safe route at every turn throughout the film. This results in a rather boring final product, despite some bright spots.

Darren (Chris Massoglia) and his friend Steve (Josh Hutcherson) sneak out one night to attend a freak show in their area. Ringmaster Mr. Tall (Ken Watanabe) introduces a plethora of captivating creatures, including a snake boy (Patrick Fugit of Almost Famous), a woman capable of spontaneously regenerating lobbed off limbs (30 Rock’s Jane Krakowski), a bearded lady/psychic (Salma Hayek), and a girl with freakishly large teeth (Kristen Schaal), amongst others.

The opening scene featuring the freak show was my favorite part of the movie. It aptly portrays the shock, excitement and disgust that two young boys would feel the first time viewing such an event. It also had some very cool makeup/CGI effects. Having been a fan of the original Freaks(1932) I tend to delight in this subject matter, and I was not disappointed.

Spider-Man 3 was far from great but I will say Thomas Haden Church gave a pretty good performance as reluctant villain Sandman. Like Alfred Molina (Dr. Octopus) before him and Willem Dafoe (Green Goblin) prior to that. Church brought a tragic element to the role. Yes, they all ended up portraying villains but you kind of felt sorry for them. I’ll even go so far as to say as much as Venom sucked in the last film, Topher Grace had an ounce of that innate misery in his portrayal of Eddie Brock.

Well, perhaps we’ll see that again in Spider-Man 4 as Dylan Baker will be reprising his role as Dr. Connor. While we have yet to see his true villain side manifest as The Lizard in the films maybe it will finally happen. Collider reports:
“Baker joked with “Trick-r-Treat” writer/director Dougherty about his role in the film, with Dougherty saying that Baker’s character was “just appearing in the background” and that the possibility of the Lizard would just be “a cocktease for another year”. Baker apparently joined in the joking, but it’s unclear whether he was actually confirming a small role for Connors or if he was giving a wink and a nod.”

Come on Sam Raimi, give the fans what they want: The Lizard! You’ve teased us for three films now, it’s time you gave Baker some green scaly skin and sharp fangs to do battle with Spider-Man. Perhaps more importantly, Baker fits the bill for that tragic quality I talked about above.

Speaking of actors that are due a real role in Spider-Man 4, Raimi confirmed that Bruce Campbell will also return for the film, “I promised him we would write something because I really love putting him in the pictures,” he told the network, adding, “I promised him a good meaty role.”

So, just what kind of “meaty role” do you give a guy who has played a different character in every film? If Internet rumors hold any water Campbell could dawn the mask of Mysterio. It would be a perfect role for Campbell when you consider the origins of the character (from Wikipedia):

“Debuting in Amazing Spider-Man #13, Mysterio is Quentin Beck, a special effects wizard and stunt man working for a major Hollywood studio with dreams of making a name for himself in the film industry. However, he came to see his career in special effects as a dead-end job, but realized that his expertise in illusions could make him an effective supervillain.”

Gee, a guy trying to make a name for himself in the film industry? Sure, Campbell is already a name in the industry, but this sounds like the perfect downtrodden character Campbell could really get into. Here’s hoping this is one Internet rumor that will pan out.